272 THE MODERN HORSE DOCTOR. 



is handed over to his tormentors. "Who are his tormentors ? 

 They are not men who have devoted a great portion of their 

 lives to the study of this truly valuable and important branch of 

 science; for it* they were, they would not make such a gross 

 mistake as that alluded to. But the very converse of this is the 

 truth, and such will be the case until the American people shall 

 educate our young men, and qualify them to practise, on correct 

 principles, the veterinary art. 



However well qualified, by observation and experience, the 

 latter class of men may be to prescribe for simple forms of dis- 

 ease, they cannot be trusted to perform an operation, one of the 

 most difficult and dangerous, and one that requires a knowledge 

 of anatomy and physiology, in order to first diagnose it with any 

 degree of accuracy. Surely, when men unacquainted with the 

 mechanism of a joint undertake to restore it to a healthy state by 

 means of agents whose action is to them unknown, then their 

 weapons are like a sword in the hands of a madman. It is a 

 consolation, however, to us, and also to every friend of humanity, 

 to know that the veterinary honors have, in a great majority of 

 cases, been forced on this class of practitioners, and that they 

 are willing to relinquish them so soon as the legitimate candidates 

 make their appearance. 



We repeat, then, that spavin cannot be radically cured ; for if 

 anchylosis is induced, the joint is still in an abnormal state. The 

 cartilages,* (between the bones,) which, in their healthy state, 

 yield to chemical analysis one third their weight of bony matter, 

 are now turned wholly into bone ; therefore they cannot be 

 restored to their elastic condition. 



If spavin exists in the form of periosteal f exostosis,! then we 

 think that, by exciting absorption, the deposits might be got rid of. 



* These are placed on the surfaces of bones, on their movable articulations, 

 and not only serve as a cushion, to prevent concussion, but also to facilitate 

 motion, and connect bones together. 



f From periosteum, a membrane which covers the bones. It is very strong, 

 composed of fibres, highly organized, having numerous arteries, veins, nerves, 

 and absorbents. 



+ Periosteal exostosis. Sir A. Cooper defines this to be a bony deposition 

 seated between the external surface of the bone and the internal surface of the 

 periosteum, and firmly adherent to both. 



